Today was my birt day. Brett and I are spending the weekend in Hagerstown, Maryland visiting our friend Aaron. We had decided to take a spring weekend trip to celebrate the occasion. The weather was perfect today, sunny and 75.

We are cycling the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail that follows the Potomac River from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington D.C. Today we cycled the trail from Williamsport, a canal era town similar to Canal Fulton to Fort Frederick, a Civil War fort. It was a very enjoyable ride.

The trail is very similar to the Towpath Trail in Ohio. This section is pretty remote. We saw only a handful of houses and other cyclists along the trail. At about the mid-point, there was a large campground on the west Virginia side of the Potomac.

The highlight of the ride was dam 5 on the Potomac. Approaching the dam you could hear a roar. I thought it was a train or freeway traffic. I was surprised when I rounded a trail bend to be treated to a long dam with water flowing fast over the spillway. It was very scenic spot that was perfect for photo ops.

About 6 miles farther north was Fort Frederick. By this time, Aaron’s knees were giving out. He is not a cyclist and 13 miles was very admirable. I had forgotten  the rule that you need to turn just when you are tiring since you have the same distance to cover on the return trip. I volunteered to cycle back to Williamsport while Brett and Aaron waited at Fr. Frederick. I actually enjoyed the ride. I ramped up the speed and made it back to Williamsport in less than an hour.

I celebrated with a prime rib dinner; something I just don’t do since my lapband surgery. Well, it was my birthday and I was in the celebrating mood. We had a delicious dinner and good time. Tomorrow we are heading out to another section of the trail; most likely around Harper’s Ferry.  It was a wonderful birthday!